Most of today’s post, is borrowed from the newsletter, of my favorite publication coach, Daphne Gray-Grant.

“When my 13-year-old son recently used the word schadenfreude in casual conversation, I snapped to attention. “Where on earth did he learn that?” I wondered. This marvellous but obscure German word, which means “to feel joy at another’s misfortune,” is hardly everyday fodder for teenagers.”

Daphne goes on to say, that although she is a fan of concise writing and using short words whenever possible, having a large vocabulary will enable us to use the best word when we need it. Then she adds this quote from William Zinsser’s, On Writing Well.

“You have to strip your writing down before you can build it back up. You must know what the essential tools are and what job they were designed to do. If I may labor the metaphor of carpentry, it is first necessary to be able to saw wood neatly and to drive nails. Later you can bevel the edges or add elegant finials.”

All of this is build up for a new site called Free Rice, which consists of vocabulary tests. There are different levels but the tests adjust to the vocabulary level of who ever is taking the test. Get one right the next word is more difficult, miss one the next word is easier.

Besides exercising your brain, the best part about Free Rice is that when you get a word correct, the site sponsor donates money for rice to the UN World Food Program.